Flame arrestors can be employed in applications, e.g., chemical, refining, petrochemical, upstream oil and gas, landfill, biogas applications, and the like, involving flammable vapors so as to prevent the flammable vapors from being ignited by potential ignition sources (e.g., flares, flames, exothermic chemical reactions, failed compressor bearings, etc.), which could lead to a fire, a deflagration, and/or a detonation. Flame arrestors, which may, for example, be installed in a pipeline between a fuel source (e.g., one or more storage tanks) and an ignition source (e.g., a flare, a flame), include flow paths that facilitate fluid flow therethrough, but, at the same time, remove heat from a flame front (which may also be referred to as the flame) as it attempts to flow through these flow paths. Flame arrestors thus prevent the flame front from reaching the fuel source, thereby preventing ignition of the fuel source, and, in turn, injuries, environmental issues, and/or damage to equipment and facilities that may result from such an ignition.
With conventional manufacturing processes, flame arrestors, such as the flame arrestor 100 of an element assembly shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, include one or more flame cells 104 that are installed (e.g., welded, captured by welded rings or crossbars) in the housing 108 and feature a plurality of narrow, linear flame paths 112 that serve to remove heat from a flame front that attempts to flow therethrough, as described above. As best illustrated in FIG. 1B, each of the flame cells 104 employs multiple layers 116 of crimped metal ribbons that are wound around a core 120 and define or create a plurality of triangularly-shaped openings 124, which in turn define or create the linear flame paths 112. In some cases, e.g., when the flame arrestor 100 includes multiple flame cells 104, as is the case in FIGS. 1A and 1B (which depicts four flame cells 104), a sheet of expanded metal or a screen 128 must be installed within the housing 104 between each pair of adjacent flame cells 104 so as to create a level of turbulence that ensures adequate heat removal as the flame front travels through the flame arrestor 100.